Process for treating petroleum oil



' Aug; 18, v1925. 1,550,607

C. P. DUBBS PROCESS FOR TREATING PETROLEUM OIL Filed April 5, 1923 view of the apparatus'used to crack hydro carbons under pressure of. the evolved vapors;

- Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED snares; PATENT OFFICE,

CARBON 1 ems, or wILMEtrrE, ILLINOIS, nssreivou 'ro UNIVERSAL-OIL rnonuo'r's COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, in CORPORATION O r SOUTH DA OTA;

PRocEss FOIR rr nerr'ive PETROLEUM OIL.

Application filed April 5,

This invention relates to improvements in a process for treating petroleum, oil, and

refers more particularly to a process adapred for the cracking Or'destructive distillation of oils to produce products having iubstantiall-y the characteristics of gasoine. I,

Among the important objects of the invention are to provide a process in which a constant and positive circulation of the condensate separated out during the refluxing of the .oil is effected; to provide a process whereby the height of the dephlegmatingunitmay be considerably lessened, due to the fact that a positive circulation is caused byra mechanical means interposed in the recycling line. Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational Fig. 2

dpositive means for recycling the reflux conforce of a sustained head of liquid. Such densate.

While this process is particularly to use in a cracking system, it wi function as well in systems in which-it is desiredto,

produce a positive flow other than by the systems may be for the treatment of-liquids under atmospheric or super-atmospheric pressures.

.Referring to the drawing, the oil to be treated is Introduced from any convenient extraneous source through the line 11 and.

- may be charged into the top of the dephleg mator 2 through the pipe 3 and spray' l positioned in the dephlegmator, Or by manipulat -ion of the valves 5 and '6vthe entire charge or a portion thereof, may be charged directly to the heating coilthrough the lines 7 and8. If charged into the to of the is a detailedsectional view' ofthe adapted 1923. Serial No. 629,974.

dephlegmator, the cool'incoming oil'is utilized as a refluxing medium and is flowed downwardly through the refluxing column I 2 in an opposed. direction to the heated oil vapors rising therethrough.

' The charging stock WltllTG-flllX condensate separated out in the column 2 will flow down through the dephlegmator leg 2 and be drawnoff through the line 9, which com municates with the pipe '8 leading to the heating coil 10.

Theheating coil is mounted in a furnace 11, preferably of the side fired type. The

oil on passing through the coil 10 in the ,furnace is raised to a conversion temperature, and in this condition is dlrec'ted' through the transfer line 12 controlled by the valve 13,.and is introduced to the vaporizing or expansion chamber 14. This chan1- her is equipped with residual drawoif .llnes -15, controlled by valves 16 and try-cocks 17 controlled by suitable valves, for ascert'alning the liquid level maintained in the expansion chamber- The residual substances and unvaporizedoil drawn off through the lines '15 pass throughthe cooler 18 from which they are directed to storage, or-for retreatment.

The vapors evolved during the conversion of the oil in the expansion chamber pass olfthrough the vapor line 19 controlled by the valve'2O and. are introduced into the lower part of the dephlegmator 2 where they are subjected to a refluxing action. In the refluxing stage, the high boiling point frac= charging stock, or flowingback. to be comtions are removed,-being carried back for 1 recycling and retreatment with the cool bined with the charging stock if the latter is introduced directly to the heating tubes.

7 The dephlegmated vapors-passoflz' from the top Of the dephlegmator through the pipe 21 regulated by the valve 22,- and are subjected to final condens'ingaction inthe condenser coil 23 positioned in the water condenser box 24. The discharge end of the condenser coil is connected by meansv of a line 25 controlled by a valve ,26'to a re-: ceiving tank 27. This receiving tank is equipped with a pressure gauge28, a pressure relief valve 29, liquid level gauge 30,

and a liquid draw off line 31 which communicates with the suction side of a pump 32, the discharge side of which has a pipe connection controlled by a valve 34 for recycling the distillate back to the to of .the dephlegmating column, and there uti- 1 tillate bottoms, kerosene distillates, gas oil,

fuel oil and innumerable other oils utilized as charging stocks for cracking systems.

The particular advantage of the system lies in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 which is positioned in the lower portion of the dephlegmator leg designated as 2*. This device consists of a propeller 37 mounted upon a shaft 38 vertically positioned in the lower portion of th dephlegmator leg and having suitable bearings 39 and -10, the latter being equipped with a stufiing box arrangement for preventing the leakage of the oil around the shaft. 'On this shaft is also inounted a pulley 41 which is driven by means of a belt 42 from a pulley 4C3 mounted upon a shaft 44 of the motor 45. The shafts are supported by a frame member 46, which assures proper alignment and support thereof. It is understood that this propeller shaft may be rotated in any suitable manner, the construction shown being adopted merely to disclose one way of driving this positive recycling means for recharging the liquid reflux bacl: into the heating coil.

By positioning the propeller in the lower part of the dephlegmator leg, it will at all times be totally immersed in the reflux condensate, and in revolving will positively force the liquid downwardly through the leg and out through the drawofi' line 9.

In place of a single propeller, a plurality of screw propelling means may be used to assure a more rapid flow of the oil. The pitch of the blades, and the rate, of revolution will govern the velocity of the recycled condensate.

By interposing positive propelling means v *of this character in .the dephlegmator leg,

the height of the dephlegmator may be lowered as the velocity of the recycled condensate is not dependent uponthe liquid head maintained in the dephlegmating column; also a positive recyclingmeans of this character, assures a higher velocity of the recycled condensate thanis the result of the maintenance of a liquid head in the column.

I claim as my invention: 1. An oil conversion process, consisting in advancing a stream of oil through a coil in a heating zone wherein it is subjected to a conversion temperature while maintained under a superatmospheric pressure, inpassing the highly heated oil from said streanr into an enlarged reaction chamber from which no unvaporized oil is permitted to return to said coil, in passing the evolved vapors from said reaction chamber to a dephlegmator, in passing a stream of charging oil in heat interchanging relation with the vapors in said dephlegma'tor to simultaneously preheat such oil and condense the heavier fractions of the vapors, in advancing a second stream of oil directly to the inlet of said coil, in directing the preheated charging oil and the reflux condensate from the dephlegmator to pressure applying means, and in forcing said preheated oil and reflux condensate under mechanically applied pressure into said advancing second stream of oil to be passed therewith through .ing a stream of charging oil in heat interchanging relation with the vapors in said dephlegmator to simultaneously preheat such oil and condense the heavier frac-' tions of the vapors, in advancing a second stream of oil directly to the inlet of said coil, and in directing the preheated charging oil and the reflux conden'sate from the de phlegmator in a stream moving under applied mechanical'pressure into said advancing second stream of oil to be passed therewith through said coil/ 3. A continuous process of oil conversion, consisting in heating a stream of oil in acoil disposed within a heating zone to a cracking temperature, in directing the heated oil from said coil into an enlarged zone wherein substantial vaporization occurs, in passing the evolved Vapors from said zone to a reflux condenser, in passing a stream of oil in heat interchanging relation with the vapors in said reflux condenser to simultaneously preheat such, oil and condense the heavier fractions of the vapors, in forcing a second stream of oil under a mechanical pressure to the inlet of said heating coil, withdrawing unvaporized'residual oil from in placing the oil preheated in the reflux consaid enlarged zone to be isolated from the denser and the reflux condensate under an system, and in maintaining a superatmos- 10 independently applied mechanical pressure, pheric pressure on the oil undergoing con- 6 in uniting such preheated oil and reflux conversion.

densate With said second stream of oil to I pass therewith through the heating coil, in CARBON P. DUBBS. 

